ARTICLE SUMMARY

You want your college experience to be a good one. Part of that involves getting good grades. Getting those A’s requires that you come from a position of strength. A 4.0 GPA along with fun is all possible. Here’s how to do it.

What does it mean to be a strong player?

Being a successful student in college requires you to be a strong player. What this means is that you should always be in control of your experience. The moment things start getting out of your control that is when disaster strikes.

You might be familiar with the pattern… At the start of each semester, you feel fresh and invigorated. In your idealistic state, you vow to make a splash going forward. The A’s on your transcript feel so real, you can just taste it. For the most part, this enthusiasm carries on with right through the first 2-3 weeks of classes. Then, it rains… Literally! The warmer half of September fades away to usher in the cooler half and the inevitable coolness of falls starts to settle in. Along with the crisp change in weather comes a crisp change in productivity. Suddenly, B+’s start to seem more realistic that A’s (hopefully) and it goes down from there.

Why does this happen?

Most students fail to maintain themselves from a position of strength. They start out with the right attitude but by the time their third week of classes rolls around, the game is over and they succumb to an inevitable fate of lacklustre performance and grades.

The next logical question naturally is, how does one stay optimistic past the initial three weeks of classes and right on until the end of the semester?

If the goal is to have a magical college experience, complete with all the fun and excitement as well as good grades to match, then you must refrain from ever being passive about your experience. Successful students know this and that is why they always work from a position of strength.

How successful students come from a position of strength

The following is a list of 5 tips that successful students use to come from a position of strength:

(A) Make a plan

This is perhaps where 95% of college students make their first mistake. Planning is so key, there is simply no reason not to do it. And, it doesn’t just start on the first day of classes. It starts well before you even get into college and then, well before the start of every semester/term. Now, if you’re in your second or third year (or, even your fourth), don’t panic. You can still put these ideas into practice and make your remaining time in college productive as a result. I go into more detail about this in Easy-GPAbooster.

(B) Remain focused & driven

A good plan will only go so far – you must also stick to it and resist the urge to favour other paths and abandon the original plan. Again, this applies to the grand plan and mini-plans along the way. Extreme focus and being driven (which are the essential building blocks of having a purpose) is the very ingredient that will sustain your efforts throughout your years in college. Having a plan starts this process, being focus and driven completes it.

(C) Utilize a good study system

You need an effective study system that works. Doing what you think you need to do, based on what’s on your plate this week simply won’t do. Most students approach their work haphazardly and fail miserably as a result. You need to know how to study, how to approach your readings and lectures, what to do before a test and how to plan the semester, etc. This material alone is far beyond the scope of this article. If you want to know more about how to do this, read up on my book Easy-GPABooster and download a copy.

(D) Establish support systems

Get to know your professors, teaching assistants and any applicable study partners in your classes. Having a genuine interest in your professor (versus just doing it for the sake of doing it) can lead to great things for you, in particular all the help and coaching you will need. All students need feedback and coaching, only few every take it. The same applies to your TA’s and study partners. Build those relationships.

(E) Practice what’s described in succeeding in college

Go through my article on Succeeding in College and put into practice what I’ve suggested. This article is of course, one of the five suggested readings. Utilize the other four articles as well.

If you put the five tips above into practice, they will work for you and you will be coming form (and staying within) a position of strength.

Will you take the next step?